PAS, DUMC meeting called off

The Damansara Utama Methodist Church had cancelled the scheduled meeting with PAS leaders today due to "recent developments"and because it was sensitive in nature.

PETALING JAYA: Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) has cancelled the scheduled meeting with PAS today on reasons that there have been “recent developments” and that the case was sensitive in nature.

Confirming this, PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said that DUMC had sent a letter of postponement to the PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali last night.

PAS was scheduled to meet with the church this afternoon as part of their internal probe over the controversial raid by Selangor Islamic Religious Department(JAIS) during a thanksgiving dinner at the church two weeks ago.

“The decision by the church was to diffuse tension over the issue. It may also be the Selangor Sultan’s advice to JAIS not to meet any parties to ensure information from the investigation is not leaked to anyone,” said Tuan Ibrahim.

JAIS, supposed to meet PAS yesterday, had also put off meeting.

“If the meeting with PAS and JAIS occured yesterday, perhaps we’d still be meeting the church,” the PAS Pahang commissioner said, adding that the meeting may be re-scheduled to after the Ramadan month.

A DUMC spokesperson said both parties had agreed to postpone the meeting. He said it was due to “recent developments” and sensitive nature of the case, without elaborating further.

PAS youth vice-chief Ahmad Sabki Yusof said DUMC’s explanation over the postponement was unclear and that the postponement would be indefinite.

Last week, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang announced that the party would be meeting church leaders to receive an explanation on the JAIS raid which occurred Aug 3.

JAIS said raid on the multiracial thanksgiving dinner was conducted on grounds that the religious authority suspected an attempt to convert 12 muslims who were present at the event.

However, the organiser of the event, NGO Harapan Komuniti, has since denied the allegation, saying it was merely a fundraising dinner for the HIV/AIDS support group.

Mustafa was not available to comment on the posponement. However he was quoted as saying in a press conference in Kuala Terengganu that the JAIS raid has elements that links the operation to Umno.

He claimed that the information was from JAIS insiders, and the reason for the raid was to destabilise the Pakatan Rakyat led Selangor government.